Yea I had thought humans, I wanted to check in and see if there was something special going on in and around Tethyr that might inform the character a bit. Orc invasion in the recent past I would go orc. But for now I will plug in Human.

I have put together a rush Alias with basics in there. I also ditched the Battle Scout idea.

hey hey hey! looks like the gang's all here! Glad we get to roll forgotten realms; I'm always looking to broaden my experience in campaign settings. Seeing as how I'm in the process of creating my own in my spare time, all input and gameplay is good learning. Once we work out the kinks and finalize, I should have no problem matching the pace and posting frequency of the group. Here's to adventure and glory!

Alright, as per request, Belgrin has changed lifestyles somewhat, and you've got a solid dwarven fighter now standing between the party and the monsters' menu. need to flesh out a little backstory, but I guess I'll work with the DM on that. He can make some maps to avoid getting lost, gonna keep a journal when he can, and he's sure to be a sturdy front line for all the dangers we'll face.

@ everyone - Thanks for checking in! I hope to have the game rolling on monday, but tuesday is also a possibility. I'll start going over characters tomorrow, so just in case you haven't created an alias please go ahead an do so. I'm not a big stickler on format, as I'm going to plug your character info into my super secret character records anyways, which will reveal any math errors and such.

Once again, greetings! With this bunch, Tethyr won't know what hit it!

Everyone gets max starting gold for their class. As a cleric of Helm, you automatically get your heavy armor proficiency back and a set of full plate mail and a heavy steel shield at 1st level. Suggested domains include protection, strength, law, and war, or any subdomains you feel are appropriate. Helm's favoured weapon is the bastard sword but, as a classic cleric, you're not proficient. We'll go over cleric specific rules when I get a bit more time.

Woohoo. So I am going to be traveling overseas tomorrow evening Eastern time. I will be laying over for a long time in london where I will be able to post as necessary, then continuing to the other side of the world from there. Sunday America time, Monday my time. My posting will be slower than it will be when I am back home, but barring some unforeseen inabilty to access internet which is extremely unlikely I will be right there with you guys.

I cannot begin to express how excited I am by this. I think I am more or less good to go Locke. I will probably by some other odds and ends with me extra gold but I think I am good.

That is unless I can assume that I have used my Craft Bowyer to have created a MW Comp Longbow, in which case I would do that. I plan to put ranks into that until I can make arrows without having to roll.

@ Duvall Kane - I forgot to mention, but perception is a class skill for clerics. Also, a little bit on spell selection for clerics: with the core rules, apg, uc and um all adding spells to the cleric's list, spell choice can be daunting. In this campaign, you get access to the spells from the core rules only to start; then, every time you level up, you add two spells of any level you can cast from other sources (the APG, UC and UM for now) to add to your list. At 5th level, you can choose to take an initiate feat, which will expand your list further and give you access to religion-specific spells.

@ Landon - could you look at replacing the shield specialization with another feat? Shield spec has some prereqs that you don't have, sorry!

@ Hezar - the masterwork bow would add 300 gp to it's value - I don't think that's within reach right now :-( Also, safe travels! Hope you have a great trip, though it sounds work-ish so I suppose it's not all fun and exotic destinations.

@ everyone - on your character sheets, it would be helpful if you'd note what your favoured class bonus is (and yes, you get a bonus at 1st level!). Also, if taking any variant racial traits, please note them as well. Finally, please don't forget that you get two traits in this campaign (sourced from pg 326 of the APG, or this link) from the Pathfinder rules online.

@ Janieries - I was having trouble finding your traits until I checked the SRD :-) While outside the bounds I had specified, they're suitably generic enough to fit. So, no issues there.

And yes, she's ready to go and looking good! Great picture by the way :-)

@ Ariael - I agree, straight Magus might be the way to go. It's a great class!

@ Everyone - unless something different is specified in your backgrounds, you'll all be answering the call of the church of Helm, and thus likely meeting one another for the first time - except for Duvall and Landon, you might know each other as church brothers. Also, no big deal, but the church strips last names from it's members, so you might be "Duvall, Adept of Helm".

I know it's a little contrived, but I'm hoping you'll overlook the whole "gathering of strangers" trope and just use it as an opportunity to roleplay your characters meeting.

a dwarven maulaxe is a combination hammer and axe, a light weapon. does 1d6 damage, but can be used as bludgeoning or slashing, and is enchanted as a single weapon, unless enchants specifically enhance slashing or bludgeoning effects. Lower damage than, say, a dwarven waraxe, but more versatile in case of skellies or golems or something.

EDIT: looking again, apparently it can also be thrown. talk about usability!

@ Belgrin - I've checked every resource I have - core, APG, ARG, UC, UE, and can't find that weapon. Where did you get it from?

EDIT: found it on the SRD. From the adventurer's armory. Not exactly the core materials I had specified, but fine, as I accepted several traits from non-core sources I suppose I'd be nitpicky to call you out on this. Seems a little weak to me though; with all the money you were given as a starting character, a dwarven waraxe and a heavy mace wouldn't break the bank.

@ Ariael - I'd stick with the base magus class myself, as it offers plenty of punch and interesting mechanics. But, whatever fits your vision is really what you should go with.

I'm not aware of any other traits that give stealth as a class skill, but to be honest the list on the SRD is daunting. If it fits mechanically, go ahead and take it; it's easier to wrap story around mechanics than vice versa. You could say he served as a scout in the starspires, hunting orcs or whatever.

Sure, child of nature is fine; it sounds suitably nature-y to fit all number of Realms deities and backgrounds.

@locke yeah sorry, didn't occur to me it wouldn't be in one of the books, I just usually use the SRD for most purposes now, since its a pretty comprehensive resource. Didn't even snap to check if it was core or not.

and yeah, I thought about going with a waraxe and a warhammer or something, but I figure the extra die size isn't going to matter much when my strength is high enough to get a good flat bonus. besides, it means I have a balance of both in one weapon. Figured I'd give it a try and see how it works for me. First time for everything, right?

Guess I need to get at least a little background cooked up for this guy.

@ Duvall Kane - just putting your character through my scanner, a few small things to note:

- the glory domain isn't technically part of Helm's domains list, but seeing how he hates the undead, it actually works

- don't forget to include the +1 resistance bonus your protection domain grants to your saves! Your will save will be dominating - but don't forget that reflex save...

- your domain spells are oddly overlapping - shield of faith and shield? Weird.... don't forget to take a look at the subdomains from the APG, they are fair play as well.

Otherwise, looking good!

I'll gladly change the domain(s) if it will fit the campaign better; I'm using two sub-domains and yes, the shield spell IS weird! Added the save bonus and change my name! Thanks for proofing my character!

Put together a Backstory for him, and went completely away from what I normally would have done.

Unlike most adventureres he has no trauma, not murdered family, or scars from war. Just a normal (all be it far above average) guy. So normal that he has become completely bored with life. He must be meant to do more.

I can create something more epic of course, but it just seemed like that is who he is.

@ Belgrin - if it fits your backstory it's fine - and I suppose the relatively low dice might not make a big difference. I don't know how it's going to affect your weapon training bonuses though, as axes and hammers are different classes of weapons. Well, I guess we'll see how it goes.

@ Elur - that's a fine backstory :-)

@ hedgeknight - keep the domain if it suits you; like I noted, Helm is not a fan of the undead and their predatory ways. Just a little niggle: you have a warhammer, which you're actually not proficient with. The morningstar or heavy mace are simple weapons that offer the same damage dice though a smaller crit bonus.

@ Hezar - I like his background a lot actually. No need for every adventurer to be born out of tragedy!

- in character speech should be done in bold; which is [b][/b]
- if you want to give us an insight into your characters thoughts, they should be in italics; which is [i][/i]
- if you want to say something out of character, use the ooc tag; which is [ooc][/ooc]
- if you want to privately say something to another character, say for example in a language you both know, indicate the character and mode of communication, and use the [spoiler=] tags; note, we're going on the honour system for their use, but be warned that I'll be reading the spoiler, cuz I'm the DM and I need to be in the loop
- and of course, we're going to be using the message board's built in dice roller 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18; which is [dice][/dice]
- most of the time, I'll post my rolls in public, but on occasion, I may roll privately, if I think it serves the story/narrative/mystery/whatever
- as noted earlier, I will be rolling initiative and sometimes perception rolls for your characters; if you want to take an action that requires a dice roll, such as a diplomacy check, then please include it along with the description of what you're doing.
- likewise, in combat posts, if you're attacking something, please include your attack roll, possible critical confirmation (if needed) and damage roll
- I'm thinking of running initiative a little differently than I would in face-to-face play. What I might suggest is that after rolling initiative, that the side with the higher average goes first. Which is to say, if you're facing three orcs, and after checking adjusted initiative your sides average is higher, then all of you go first, then the orcs. Its less realistic, but might speed up play. Am still considering.

Morning folks! Finalizing my equipment list - are we allowed to purchase magic items? With the church providing my armor, I have around 100 gold to spend. I can get a couple of potions or even an Ioun Torch which would free up my hands in darkness. Just asking, if not, that's cool.